Not Quite You
by AbbyTheBlue
Summary: After the aliens has been sent back into space as they usually were, Rose and the Doctor run into each other; A different each other. John Smith and Rose completely mimic the Doctor and Rose Tyler in both personality and looks, but opposite them in role as a Time Lord and human. They delve into the lives of their doppelgangers as the reason they came is slowly revealed.
1. Part 1

The monsters were destroyed. Finished. The Doctor had gone up the north road to the old warehouse and Rose went around the way to the south to the condos to corner it in some magnetic field or something that Rose didn't exactly understand, but she knew she had to hold this device and press a button when she got to a certain place and the spaceship would go back into space. That was all, well, not really easy, but not impossible and now it was over. But then there was the fact that Rose's sense of direction wasn't all that good and she could never figure out all these streets. She ran down the road, swearing she must have been down this road at least 20 times already with no luck.

"Doctor!" she called as she ran.

"Rose?" a voice finally responded.

"Finally," she muttered to herself, and followed the source of the voice to the Doctor, who was clearly looking for her too. He was, strangely enough, dressed in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, but my Doctor nonetheless.

"Doctor, there you are," she said, running up to him, then commented, "What are you wearing?"

"What am I wearing, what are you wearing?" he asked, nodding at her light blue jacket and black pants. "And who's the Doctor?"

"What are you going on about, _you're_ the Doctor," She reminded him, now beginning to get really confused.

"What?" he asked.

"Rose!" another voice called. Then, Rose looked up in utter confusion, as yet another Doctor came down the road, this time in his usual attire but with a face exactly like the one of the man in the white T-shirt.

"Doctor?" Rose asked, creasing her eyebrows. When she spoke, the Doctor's doppelganger spoke too.

"Doctor, what's going on?"

"Rose, what's going on?"

Rose and the man who looked like the Doctor looked at each other in confusion.

"Well, this is… interesting," The Doctor confessed.

"John, there you are!" a voice called. Rose turned around, stricken by the familiarity of the British female voice. Her eyes widened when she saw her own doppelganger approaching them, with her hair back in a casual bun and wearing a blue shirt, tight leather jacket, and black dress pants with blue converse. She stopped in her tracks, looking around at the display.

"Well, looks like there's already quite a party," she said. She faced the real Doctor (or so Rose started to think, as what he was wearing made a lot more sense) and reached her hand into her jacket at the same time he did. At precisely the same time, they both whipped their hands out of their pockets to reveal near-identical sonic screwdrivers and buzz them at each other. Rose and the other Doctor stood off to the side, confused as all Hell. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, both taken off guard, then put the sonics away.

"You have a sonic screwdriver," The Doctor commented.

" _You_ have a sonic screwdriver," the other Rose responded.

They both just stared for another moment.

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked suspiciously.

"I'm called Rose," she answered.

"No you're not," he answered. "So why pretend to be us?"

"You must have some clue to the motives, seeing as how you're imitating John," she answered quickly.

"John?" The Doctor asked. "Who's that?"

"Uh, hi," his carbon copy said curtly, then turned to the other Rose and asked, "What's going on? Is it zygons maybe?"

"No, I scanned him. Can't tell what he is," she answered without looking at him.

"Nor can I tell what you are," The Doctor responded. He paused for a moment, "Something's wrong," he said. The real Rose shivered, frightened by the Doctor's genuine concern.

"What are you?" The Doctor asked lowly.

"I doubt you'd know it," other Rose responded.

"You'd be surprised," The Doctor added.

The other Rose slowly nodded. "Alright then, search your databanks for this," she answered, spreading her arms out in openness, "Time Lord."

The Doctor's face filled with shock and so did Rose's.

"Hold on, Doctor, how can she be a Time Lord, she's- she's me!" Rose exclaimed.

"Go on, scan me. Two hearts, binary vascular system," the other Rose responded. The Doctor took out his screwdriver and scanned her again, looking at the results with awe.

"She can't be," he muttered to himself, "But she is…"

"And you?" other Rose asked, "What kind of species still knows about the Time Lords?" she asked.

"Try a Time Lord," The Doctor responded casually. He scanned himself with one hand and then tossed her the screwdriver. Her eyes went wide at the results.

"But that's impossible," she said.

"I know," The Doctor agreed, "And yet here we are."

Time Lord Rose glanced nervously up, tossing him back his screwdriver. "What did you say you called yourself again?" she asked.

"The Doctor," he answered coolly.

"Anything to go with that?" she asked.

"Nope, just the Doctor," he said, as he usually did.

"Well, I would know," she said, "It's Rose. Just Rose."

"He's a Time Lord? Another Time Lord?" John asked in awe, "Seriously? Rose, that's incredible, maybe there are more out there!"  
"Possibly," she agreed, holding the sides of her jacket, "But in my opinion, this is the sort of matter to discuss over chips."

So, that's what they did. Time Lord Rose insisted on going down to one of the nearest little diners and they all got a seat, trying to pick out where to start in this whole conundrum.

"So," began the second Rose as she leaned back, turning to the Doctor, "Your Rose is human and you're the Time Lord?" she checked.

"Yep," The Doctor agreed, "And would I be correct in saying that in your situation it's the other way 'round?"

"Yep," Rose answered, "So, now the question."

"How," The Doctor finished, crossing his arms.

"Any suggestions?" The Time Lord Rose asked, taking a chip off her plate and biting into it.

"Well, Rose, it could be that he's not really a Time Lord," John reccomended, "I mean, he gave you his screwdriver to scan himself, maybe he pre-set it to say Time Lord or something."

"Very true," Rose agreed, pulling her screwdriver out of her inside coat pocket. The Doctor opened his arms.

"Scan away," he told her. She did so, and then checked the results and frowned.

"Totally Time Lord," she responded, leaning back as she tucked her sonic back into her coat.

"You're sure it isn't still wrong?" John asked.

"I trust this object with my life," Rose said strongly.

"Right. Sorry," John responded.

"Don't be. It was a good idea."

"What about like, parallel universes or something?" The other Rose asked, the one with only one heart. "I mean, I know it's supposedly impossible, but there could be a way, right Doctor?"

"Suppose there could be," The Doctor agreed, looking over the Time Lord Rose, "What do you think of it, Rose?"

"Well, I just told you-" the human Rose began.

"Think he means her," John interrupted, "I think this is going to get confusing after a while, so maybe we should have other names for us. Not to mention it would probably be smartest to make some distinguishing features so we know who's the human and who's the Time Lord."

"Good point, John, well done," The Doctor complimented, "It's good to see you've got a clever mind on top of all those gorgeous looks."

Both Roses rolled their eyes.

"So, it doesn't have to be complicated, right?" The human Rose asked, "I mean we've already got John vs. the Doctor, we could just do something like Rose A for me and Rose B for her."

"Why should you get to be Rose A?" the other Rose snapped.

"No need to freak out about it, missy, it's not going on your birth certificate," the human Rose responded, irritated.

"Er, how about your last name?" John recommended, turning to Rose, "Cause y'see, my Rose doesn't have a last name so I figure you having a full name should be distinguishment enough. So tell me, what is your last name? If you don't mind me asking."

Rose paused for a moment, considering this, before she finally said, "Tyler."

"Tyler it is, then!" The Time Lord Rose agreed, "Now, how do we tell ourselves apart?"

"Any sort of marking will probably do," The Doctor said, sitting up straighter and reaching under his jacket into his pocket. After a few moments of searching, he withdrew a black sharpie. "This should be fine," he said.

Rose, who was across from him, offered out her arm first. On her arm the Doctor drew two boxes connected by one corner, as though they were on either corner of an invisible box cut into four. Then, John and Tyler offered up their arms, and on each of their wrists he drew one equilateral triangle with the base up towards their palm. They both looked at it curiously as he drew on himself the same marking he had put on Rose's wrist.

"What's this?" John asked.

"A means of alien species identification, used in the north sector of the Meridia Galaxy," Rose answered casually, watching as the Doctor drew the mark on himself, "What species people are tends to depend on their vascular system, so one heart is a triangle, like yours, two hearts is the two squares, three hearts is three circles stuck together and anything over that is just a horizontal line. There are other specifications of course, but those are the basics."  
The Doctor glanced up, "You're good," he commented.

"I've been around," Rose responded smugly. John casually nodded at the information and had another chip, as though this happened all the time, but Tyler just caught herself staring. She wasn't like her at all. Who she really sounded like was the Doctor, but she wasn't exactly like him either.

"We'll have to do something more permanent at some point, once we get back to the TARDIS," The Doctor said, tucking the sharpie back in his pocket. He turned to Rose, "You have got a TARDIS, haven't you?"

"Course," Rose agreed, "Not doing so well, though. However it brought us here to wherever we are, it took quite a bit of energy."

"Like enough energy to travel through universes?" The Doctor asked.

"Don't insult me, Doctor, I think I know when I've ripped a hole through the universe," Rose responded quickly.

"So do I, so how exactly did you get here without even being sure you did?" The Doctor asked. "How far away is your TARDIS?"

"About three blocks, down on the corner of Elm Street," Rose answered, leaning in.

"Mind if I see?"

"Why?"

"I think you know."

"Scan the surrounding area for rifts or anomalies and check myself for void stuff?"  
"Exactly."

"Let's go."

They both stood up and headed immediately for the door, leaving the two humans still shaken from the outstanding tension between them. Tyler glanced up at John and sighed.

"I suppose we have to-"

"Yeah," he agreed, then took his wallet out from inside his jeans pocket and paid the check. After that, the two of them headed out to follow the two Time Lords.

"So, what's it like with me as… you know, basically the Doctor?" Tyler asked awkwardly, "I mean, what am I like?"

John looked out at the Time Lords, thinking over the question, before he turned back to Tyler and answered, "All of it's sort of a whirlwind, really. I mean, that deal with the check, that's not exactly the first time it's happened. You - er - Rose, tends to sort of think on her toes and do what she wants. So… kind of messy and gets us into trouble… but brave, very brave. I wish I was half as daring as her, really."

Tyler let out a spurty, short sort of laugh. "Her? Braver than you?" she asked incredulously, "But you're…" there was a long pause as John looked at her expectantly.

"I'm what?" he inquired finally.

"But you're _him,"_ Tyler responded weakly.

"I'm not though, that's the thing," he answered, "I'm just John Smith. Mummy's boy from London, spent most of his adult life working at Marshall's and trying to make ends meet. I'm not even twenty years old."

Tyler shook her head, trying to make it make sense. "That's so weird," she said with a slight smile.

"Totally," John agreed, "You're what, around my age?"

"Nineteen," Tyler answered.

"My Rose is ages older than that," he said. He looked up at her, talking to the Doctor up ahead of him, "I love her though," he confessed.

"Ooh, something going on in your universe," Tyler said childishly.

"Well, yes of course," John responded, creasing his eyebrows and turning back to her. "I mean we're basically at the human equivalent of dating at least. She doesn't call it that, but it's certainly out in the open."

"What, seriously?" Tyler asked, her jaw dropping.

"Yeah!" he answered with a smile, "Why, aren't you two?"

"The Doctor and I we're… we're just friends, is all," she said nervously.

"Liar," he answered, "You see, this is why I say you're braver, in the world where she's a Time Lord we've been together for months. I bet you twenty quid that the only reason your Doctor hasn't snogged you already is because he's just too shy to try anything."

"I think the _last_ word I would use to describe him is shy," Tyler scoffed, "And besides that what am I supposed to do about it? Meet him at the closest pub to our solar system?"

"Yeah! I'm telling you, if he's got even a line of the same genetics as me he's not gonna act on it unless it truly is his last chance. You're the brave one, Rose, however much you hate to admit it. You've got to show him how you feel or it's never going to get anywhere."

Tyler thought about this for a moment, before continuing to say with a smile, "Never thought I'd be getting dating advice from my crush's doppelganger." John chuckled in agreement.

"Here we are," Rose said as she and the Doctor approached an old flat. She walked up to one of the doors.

"In an apartment? Won't people talk?" The Doctor asked.

" _Is_ the apartment," Rose corrected as she opened the door. The Doctor stepped in. It lead directly to her TARDIS.

He looked around. It was mainly like his own, only the walls looked a little burnt and scratched and lasered, as did the console, and the heart of the TARDIS was dim and sick. He could understand what she meant when she'd said it wasn't doing so well.

"What, doesn't your chameleon circuit work?" Rose asked. The Doctor didn't answer for a moment, slightly embarrassed.

"No, yeah it- it totally works. Definitely," The Doctor lied. Rose shot him a look. She went over to the console, beginning to type in a few controls, when John stepped into the TARDIS, followed by Tyler. Tyler looked around for a moment, a little surprised their TARDISes were so similar.

"Ah, Rose, there you are, come here for a second," The Doctor said. He took her by the shoulders and then turned her away from the console, taking a few steps away and talking low so their doppelgangers couldn't hear him. Meanwhile, John went over to Rose and began asking her what she was doing.

"Something's very off here," The Doctor said intensely to Tyler, "Look around at this TARDIS, what's wrong?"

Tyler looked around, over her shoulder at the console, around at the walls, and under the grating to the bowels of the ship. It all looked pretty much identical to the Doctor's TARDIS.

"I don't see anything," she confessed.

"Exactly," The Doctor responded, "Now, the most likely explanation at this point is that Rose's ship travelled through the void to a different universe, and if that's the case, where's all the damage? A ship like this would come out of the void as not much more than scrap, and yet she claims that she didn't even notice that they came here."

"So, what are you saying?" Tyler asked.

"I'm saying something's wrong," The Doctor insisted, "With the TARDIS, with Rose, with everything. Don't trust either of them yet, not before I can be sure how they're here. Don't be with either one of them on your own, and always check the marking on John's or my wrist before you see us to double-check."

"But it's just sharpie, can't they wash it off?"

"I may have sort of lied," The Doctor confessed, "It's just disguised a sharpie, it's really a special ink that only comes off with a certain material."

"Ah. Okay," Tyler said, a little lost.

"Doctor!" Rose called. The Doctor turned around like nothing happened, "I think I've got something," she continued. The Doctor walked over to her, squatting down to look at the panel she'd opened up.

"Oh, yeah, look at that," The Doctor agreed.

"What?" Tyler asked, bending over to try and see the wires underneath.

"It's completely fried. Kaput!" The Doctor told her, and then turned back to Rose, who was sitting up beside him. "Still though, pretty lucky for having travelled through universes. Is this all the damage?"

"All I can find," Rose said, "I mean, the heart of the TARDIS will probably have to heal for a few days, she feels kind of sick to me. But other than that, yeah, I guess we got off pretty well."

"Very well," The Doctor agreed. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "May I?" he asked.

"Go ahead," Rose answered. The Doctor scanned the panel and then looked at his screwdriver in confusion. Then, he scanned around the other panels beneath the console and the heart of the TARDIS itself, creasing his eyebrows at the results.

"You… made it through the void and all you did was bust the wires in one panel?" The Doctor asked again.

"Yeah, guess we did," Rose said, casting him a warning look. The TARDIS was uneasily quiet for a second. "Or, we didn't," Rose said after a moment, standing up. The Doctor followed after. "We still haven't checked for void stuff, we probably ought to make sure that it was inter-universal travel. I've got my scanners in the other room, come on."

She started off towards the door to another part of the TARDIS, and the Doctor followed after.

"Come on, Ms. Tyler," he told Tyler, and she began to follow after before Rose continued,

"Not her. We need someone to make sure travelling through the void doesn't have any after-effects on the TARDIS, and John has a different duty."

"What's my duty?" John asked curiously.

"Go see what shape the Doctor's TARDIS is in, if it might have been him who travelled through the void," Rose explained as she headed through the door.

"Sure!" John said excitedly, but there was a tone of nervousness behind his voice.

"Alright, Rose, just-" The Doctor began. He glanced down the hall, making sure Rose wasn't listening and John was heading out the door. "Go, watch him."

"But she said-" Tyler interrupted.

"I know, but just keep an eye on him. And Rose!"

"What, Doctor?" she asked.

"Be careful," he reminded her, and then turned down the hall and started walking away.

Just then, John's head poked through the door and he looked at Tyler. "You know, come to mention it, I don't actually know where your TARDIS is parked. Do you mind?"

Tyler raised her eyebrows. Well, that was convenient. "Sure, yeah," she said, and then followed him out of the TARDIS.

"So, where'd he park it?" John asked, looking around the city.

"Just down a few blocks," Tyler told him.

"Ah. Thanks," John agreed. They walked for a little while, down the big crowded streets before they came to a grey building that was coated almost entirely in different color paint, a huge abstract mural of faceless, straight-edged people walking through a nonsensically shaped, geometric looking city. People were taking pictures and marveling at it, and Tyler stopped for a moment to take a look.

"Oh, look at that. Never seen that before," she said with a smile, "Funny, you'll go off travelling the stars and miss all sorts of crazy things in your very own home town."

"Mm," John agreed impatiently, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"You alright, John?" Tyler asked, turning back to him.

"Yes, fine, fine," he answered quickly, "I just think we ought to be going is all."

"Well, the TARDIS is a time machine, I think we can stop for a moment to look at one painting," Tyler insisted. Her smile faded slightly at the worried expression on John's face.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked, "We're really not in that much of a rush, it's only a few blocks away."

"Look, Rose, can we just-" he began quickly, and then stopped himself. "Tyler," he corrected, "Can we just… go? Please?"

Tyler looked him over once, a bad, sickly feeling seeping in from the air and into her mind. But eventually, she answered. "Yeah," she said, "Alright."

"This should be it," Rose said casually, as they came up on a door down one of the hallways of the TARDIS. The Doctor looked around, following behind Rose as the layout of her TARDIS was fairly different from the layout of his own. She stepped into the door she'd gestured to, and the Doctor followed her in.

The room looked almost like a laboratory mixed with a classroom, with white walls and tables and various cabinets on every side. It wasn't particularly interesting, but she was just here to get what she used to look for void stuff. The Doctor drifted in and looked around, before glancing back around. She turned around and leaned on a table in front of him, turning to the other side of the room.

"So, what have you got, what do you use to scan for void stuff?" The Doctor asked slowly, wandering around and facing the back of her head. "I've got those 3-D glasses like they give you in the cinemas, but that's sort of just my style. Most people have got like binoculars, or scanners or probes…" he suggested, glancing at her, "Possibly a bionic implant…?" he raised his eyebrows at her, wandering slowly to the other direction, "Although, you're probably past all that aren't you?" he asked softly, "Because as I can clearly see, Miss Rose, your technology is very, very advanced. I don't know many people who can take their ship and fly it through the void to have it come out virtually unharmed." He leaned forward, putting his fists on the table she leaned over and leaning forward, trying to get a look at her facial expression. "Care to teach me your tricks?" he asked softly. A long pause lingered through the air before finally, with her head turned away, Rose responded.

"I'm sorry," she said finally.

"Sorry for what?" The Doctor asked slowly. For a moment, she didn't answer. Her fists balled up against the countertop. Then, in a split second, she turned upward and punched the Doctor hard in the face, knocking him out and leaving him to fall to the floor. She looked down at his unconscious body with guilt storming through her eyes.

"For this," she said finally, and then proceeded back to the console room.


	2. Part 2

"So, what are you so worried about?" Tyler asked John as they continued down the sidewalk to the Doctor's TARDIS.

"Worried?" John asked, "I'm not worried. I'm just trying to get to the TARDIS."

"Yeah, and that too," Tyler said, turning around in front of him and stopping his path, "Since when were we in such a rush? Rose told you to check for any damage, not stop some rampaging aliens," she said, thinking it through. John shrank down a little bit more every second. "And on top of that, why couldn't she come herself? She just had to scan for void stuff, that can't take long… And even if you _did_ have to go, you may be her companion but _she's_ the one who _owns_ the TARDIS in your universe. How would you know?"

John froze, his eyes locking on her in terror, "I, uh, I-" he stuttered.

"Unless you don't know," Tyler said sharply, her face falling. Her eyes filled with realization as she figured out why Rose hadn't come. "Oh my God, she's done something to the Doctor," she whispered. "You were here to distract me and I bloody fell for it!" she took a few steps back and then darted off into the other direction, back towards Rose's TARDIS.

"Wait, Tyler!" John cried, after her. "Tyler!" She didn't call back, and after a moment, he was forced to run after her at top speed.

Tyler only ran faster when she heard the whooshing sound of a TARDIS taking off, but by the time she got back, it was too late. The extra door to the flat was already gone, and only the front door remained. John caught up behind her and he was an easy outlet of her anger.

"You liar!" she shouted, shoving him back, "What has she done with the Doctor, where is she?"

"Hey, look, it's fine, the Doctor's fine, she'll be back in just a couple seconds," John persuaded her.

"I'll tell you where you'll be in just a couple seconds!" Tyler threatened.

"There, see, look!" John said, pointing. Little by little, the door reappeared on the wall. Tyler turned to the door, her eyes wide with focus. As soon as it was fully materialized, she barged in on Rose at the console.

"Doctor?" she called, looking around for him.

"Sorry, the Doctor's left the building," Rose responded. She nodded at John to come in, and he did so.

"What have you done to the Doctor?" Tyler demanded lowly.

"He's safe, he's fine, don't worry!" she insisted, "He's just out."

"Out where?!"

"On a little errand in the Sahara Desert, what's it to you?" Rose snapped back, turning around and backing up towards the door, standing protectively in front of John.

"What's it to me, you kidnapped him, that's what!" Tyler responded, taking a step forward. Rose took a step back.

"I didn't kidnap him!" Rose insisted, "He was just… causing trouble is all."

"Why are you in our universe, exactly?" Tyler asked, again moving a little bit forward. John and Rose moved back again, stepping out of the TARDIS.

"We have to be here," Rose said, her voice suddenly turning grave. "I didn't have another choice."

Tyler just looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out what she meant. In the time she had to think out a response, rose grabbed each door and pulled them closed from the outside, making the door click when she locked it shut.

"Hey, what are you-" Tyler cried, shaking the door to try and open it.

"We need his TARDIS," Rose called back through the door, "But don't worry, he'll probably find you again. If he's like me or like John, really, I wouldn't put it past him. You'll be fine."

"Rose, just think about this!" Tyler called through the door.

"You seem like a nice girl, Rose," John said casually, "I'm sorry to have to do this, but we really do have to go."

"No, John, wait!" Tyler said, banging on the door. She waited for a moment, listening to the near silence, and knew that they were done. "Dammit," she whispered. She headed back to the console, leaning against it hopefully. She cursed to herself again. How the Hell was she supposed to get to the Doctor like this? All alone, locked in a TARDIS that wasn't hers…

But it was hers. At least, in a sense. It was probably unlikely, but if she had the exact same genetic blueprint that the other Rose had, why wouldn't this TARDIS listen to her? She could get to the Doctor.

"Alright, TARDIS," she told the console, "I need to get to the Doctor. You know him, he looks like John but he's got two hearts. Anyway, I need to get back to him otherwise Rose-" she caught herself, " _I_ could be in some serious danger. Just… please, how do I get to him?"

There was a moment of awkward quiet, the TARDIS seeming to almost read her, before eventually, a panel slid back on the console. Underneath it were the imprints of human hands with glowing dots along the places for the joints. Tyler found that it was exactly fitted to her hands when she placed them softly in.

"So, it's something psychic, right, that's what this is?" she asked, "I can work with that."

She shut her eyes, focusing all her brain power to where and with whom she needed to be. Over and over it repeated in her mind, _Doctor, Sahara Desert, Doctor Sahara Desert._ An image of the man she travelled with and the sound of his voice, then a feeling of heat and long plains of sand. Even as the TARDIS began to shift around and make strange noises she didn't even open her eyes, refusing to divert her thought from those two things. Even after the noises stopped and the room around her stopped shaking, she didn't move for at least thirty seconds, mentally or physically. Finally, she opened her eyes.

"Now… the door…" she whispered. She shut her eyes and imagined the door swinging open, and a few moments after she did, she heard a click from the other side of the TARDIS. Her head swung up, and nervously, she lifted her now sweating palms from the hand imprints. Slowly, she drifted over to the door, begging with all her heart that it had worked. She placed her hand on the handle. _Please_ let it have worked. In one single movement, she shut her eyes, and pulled the doors open.

Carefully, she opened her eyes, her heart racing in her chest. She sighed with relief when she saw the massive sand dunes surrounding her at every angle. She did say Sahara Desert, right? Tyler didn't have to wander anymore when she saw the silhouette of one lone figure lying in the sand.

"Doctor!" Tyler called. She did her best to run through the falling sand but it was like trudging through a marsh. She would have collapsed to her knees when she got there even if the Doctor hadn't been lying possibly dead in the sand.

"Doctor!" she insisted, shaking him and trying to wake him, "Doctor, wake up!"

"Mm…" The Doctor moaned, wincing at the sun and the pain in his head. He opened his eyes, just enough to see. "Rose?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me Doctor," Tyler said, sighing with relief, "What happened?"

"Other Rose, she- she knocked me out, I think. Dropped me off here in this… this ship."

Tyler looked around in confusion. Nothing but sand, no hints of it being a ship at all. "A ship?" she asked slowly. The Doctor slowly sat up and looked around.

"Yeah, the ship we're in now," he said wearily, beginning to bring himself to his feet, "Looks like something designed for a humanoid race… possibly from around the 50th century…" as soon as he got to his feet he tripped over again, falling face flat into the sand and groaning as he hit the ground. Rose hurried back over to him.

"Doctor, what are you going on about?" she asked, looking for some sign that it might have been a spaceship, "We're in… the desert, a desert on Earth!"

The Doctor looked around, looking completely lost. "A desert on Earth?" he repeated weakly, "Don't Earth deserts have to have that… that thing?"

"What thing?" Tyler asked, shaking her head.

"You know like those big mountains made of smaller rocks," The Doctor said, vacantly looking into the sky, "Isn't that weird? Just one big rock made out of thousands of millions teeny tiny rocks. It's like… it's like a fruit smoothie made of sand." He looked off into the distance, a thought occurring to him, "I should try that."

Tyler raised an eyebrow, a little taken aback by his current behavior. There could be a lot of ways to describe it, but one in particular came to mind.

"You sound…" she said slowly.

"Sound… what?" he asked her.

"High," she confessed. She took a moment to take the sides of his face and look into his eyes to see if she could find some hints that he'd been drugged, but he didn't even seem to notice.

"Well, if we're in a desert on Earth there's no reason why we would have gone far above sea level…" he told her. Tyler ignored him and leaned back a little.

"I think Rose has drugged you," Tyler said sharply.

"Please, Rose, I'm a Time Lord, I would not react this way to simple narcotics," he said simply, then looked off into the distance and added thoughtfully, "Rose…"

"What?" she asked instantly.

"Your name, that's the name of a plant." His eyes went wide as he looked back at her like this was Earth-shattering news, "Whoa, that's really weird, Rose did you ever notice-" he started to smile about it, but Tyler shot him a look. His smile faded and he nodded.

"Right. Might have… possibly been drugged, okay," he agreed. He looked around. "So… you said we were in a desert, a desert on Earth," The Doctor checked.

"Yeah, the Sahara desert," Tyler agreed, "The other Rose took you here and then stole your TARDIS, I don't know what's up with her, but she's not supposed to be in this universe."

The Doctor didn't respond, just vacantly nodding at everything she said.

"Are you getting this?!" Tyler demanded.

"No, no, yeah, absolutely," The Doctor responded, trying his best to focus. Tyler stood up and rolled her eyes.

"Sounds like you've smoked a joint and a half…" she muttered to herself.

"What- what- what does that mean?" The Doctor stuttered.

"Come on, you stoner!" Tyler laughed. She grabbed him by the hand and hauled him up, looking around for the TARDIS. Her heart skipped a beat of fear when she didn't see the traditional blue box, before she remembered that the other Rose's TARDIS still had a working chameleon circuit. It didn't take long to figure out what the TARDIS was, as there was only one thing in the area other than sand and that was one green cactus about the size of a tree. Tyler headed over to it, her hand still tightly gripped around the Doctor's who stumbled and swerved around behind her, nearly falling on multiple occasions.

"Are you… seeing the cactus too?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah, it's the chameleon circuit," Tyler said. A door appeared on the cactus as did a green handle. Carefully, avoiding the spikes, she took the handle and stepped back into the TARDIS.

The Doctor took a few steps in, nearly tripping as he stepped in only for Rose to catch him and mount him back up again.

"Whoa…" he said as he looked around, "Something's off here, I can feel it. Something's different than before."

"Are you sure you're not just-" Tyler began.

"Shh!" The Doctor insisted. He was silent for a moment, seemingly listening, before he spoke, as he took a few steps forward. He nearly fell but caught himself by leaning over the console and staring into the heart of the TARDIS.

"How did you get here? The… the warpy panel was all fried out."

"The warpy panel?" asked Tyler with a laugh.

"Well, my vocabulary's a little limited right now, give me a break," The Doctor mumbled, and then continued, "How did you know how to get here?"

"Well, I just used these hand things," Tyler said, walking over to the console and showing the Doctor, "The TARDIS thought I was Rose so I could hook up to the psychic link. Or, I think that's what happened." As she spoke the Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out from under his coat in a rough motion and then carefully scanned the panel with the imprints of Rose's hands. He checked the results.

"Oh, that's what was off," he said to himself, "The psychic link's been cut. Totally fried." He stared at his screwdriver for another moment, before adding softly to himself, "That's not good…"

"You're sure that's what it is and not just you?" Tyler checked.

"Look, Susan, I may be a little not myself, but I think I can still read a sonic screwdriver!" The Doctor said sharply, tucking his screwdriver back into his coat. Tyler didn't have a chance to create a response before the Doctor continued, "And if you don't believe me, check, try to fly it." Tyler cast him a look before stepping forward and placing her hands on the panel. Almost before her skin even touched it, a spark burst out from the panel and Tyler screamed and pulled her hands back. The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her.

"You said this was bad," Tyler began, "Why, what's wrong with it?"

"Well," The Doctor began, "Clearly the psychic link must be attached to some external additional power source that the rest of the TARDIS isn't hooked up to, because the panel that burst was the one that controlled… basically movement through space. But if the psychic link's already down and the TARDIS can't get to the extra power… There's not really a way to fly it, now is there?"  
"So we're just stuck in the middle of the desert while Rose and John take the TARDIS?!" Tyler demanded. "What do we do?" she asked, calming herself down. For a moment, the Doctor didn't answer, staring off into space. "Doctor!" she jolted.

"Right, uh, sorry, there might be one trip left in the ship but it would be very risky and there's a low chance of any sort of success at all and an even lower chance as I don't even know if I'll be able to fly a TARDIS like this!" The Doctor explained.

"So, basically we're stuck in the middle of the Sahara Desert or we have to risk flying a broken TARDIS while you're high off your arse?" Tyler checked.

"Basically," The Doctor agreed.

"Well, that's just great." Tyler leaned forward on the console, looking into the center of the console with the Doctor. "Well, just sitting here won't get us far," said Tyler, "I say we try it and see if we can get anywhere."

"We could end up anywhere," The Doctor warned.

"Better than being here all our lives."

The Doctor thought about this for a moment before nodding and responding, "Alright then." He grinned giddily. "On we go!" he exclaimed. He twirled around to try and hit one of the controls like he normally would in his ecstatic manner, but found he was still too weak, twirled around, and landed on the ground with a thump. Tyler smiled.

"You alright there, Doctor?" she asked, as he got back up and leaned on the console.

"Absolutely fine!" he insisted. And with that he hit the button he had meant to, then circulated slowly around pressing buttons and pulling switches, setting the coordinates. Then, he dropped down under the TARDIS and re-opened one of the panels. He reached inside and pulled out two wires, one red and one blue, and pulled them over to give to Tyler.

"Hold these," he told her.

"What are they?" Tyler asked, looking down at them.

"If there are any more remnants to the psychic link, they're in those wires. That panel sends responsive signals directly into the heart of the TARDIS."

"And you're sure I won't get electrocuted?" Tyler asked nervously.

"Absolutely," The Doctor said surely, "Just think as hard as you can about everything you know about Rose, John, and the TARDIS, my TARDIS, have you got that?"

"Yes," she answered surely.

"Then on we go." And with that he shot her a wild smile, and pulled the main lever.

The entire TARDIS shook so hard it might have turned completely sideways and back, throwing both Tyler and the Doctor to the floor. It wasn't much better after that, rocking wildly back and forth and throwing them wildly aside. Loud crunches and pops and whirs came from the walls, and sparks flew from the console.

"I don't think it'll work, Doctor!" Tyler shouted over the din of the breaking down engine.

"That's because you're thinking about it not working, it all depends on the psychic link. Now! TARDIS thoughts!" he shouted back at her. He ran around the other side of the console, nearly falling on multiple occasions as he readjusted the controls to try and keep the machine at least somewhat stable, multiple times being thrown to the ground or thrust into the console. He did his best to focus, but after Tyler opened her eyes she could see him swatting something out of his face and smacking the console like he was surrounded by bees.

"What are you doing now?!" she demanded.

"Hallucinating!" the Doctor snapped back.

"Well, can it wait?!" Tyler insisted.

"Can it wait?!" he responded incredulously.

"Right, never mind, just… focus." She shut her eyes again, trying to ignore the chaos around her and think of nothing but the Doctor's TARDIS. The Doctor sighed, trying to ignore the wasps that only he saw all around him as he kept the TARDIS under control. They were both on the verge of giving up when the entire TARDIS stopped. It just stopped. No sound came from the walls, the console held completely still, it didn't shake at all. Neither Tyler not the Doctor moved a muscle for at least a full ten seconds.

"Did we make it?" Tyler asked finally.

"I… don't know…" The Doctor confessed. "But… there's only one way to find out." And with that he made his way over to the door and practically crashed into it, before pushing it open. He grinned when he saw that they had made it to the right place.

Rose's face hardened with fury when she saw the madly grinning, fairly disheveled Doctor hanging halfway out of the TARDIS's doors and looking around her ship.

"Oh, hello!" he greeted cheerfully. He stumbled loosely out of the TARDIS, but continued to lean against it. He did a double take when he found it was now another pillar like the ones that surrounded the TARDIS. Tyler followed him out, grinning in triumph at her surroundings.

"Oh, here we are!" Tyler said with a short laugh.

"Oh, yeah," The Doctor agreed pleasantly.

"How did you get here?" Rose asked sharply from the console, stepping slightly in front of John to protect him. The Doctor propped himself up slightly differently on the pillar and continued.

"Well it was one Hell of a trip, miss Rose. One Hell of a ship, you've got too," he told her, and then peered off at the TARDIS wall and added, "Hey, that rhymes…"

Both Tyler and John startled when Rose pulled a small laser gun from under her coat pocket. The Doctor put his hands up to stop her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" The Doctor objected, "You're not gonna need that, we're just here to ask you a few questions."

"Get out of my TARDIS," she said rapidly.

"Or what?" The Doctor asked.

"Or I shoot you," she answered venomously.

"Well, if I'm dead how exactly am I going to get out of this TARDIS?"

Rose let out a furious breath and cocked her gun, her hands perfectly steady. "Don't play games with me, Doctor!" she warned.

The Doctor put his hands up. "No games," he told her, "Just a few questions." Rose kept her eyes steadily on him before tucking the gun back in her pocket and sighing. He couldn't help but notice how her hand twitched when anyone spoke, ready to reach for the gun.

"Now, question one," The Doctor began, swinging all the way in front of the pillar, leaning against it and crossing his arms, "Probably the least important but by far the most immediate. What exactly did you drug me with and also, why? You'd already punched my lights out, I'd be unconscious for plenty of time."

Rose sighed, "Why…" she started, "I was taking precautions, I couldn't be sure you wouldn't wake up and I had to be sure you'd take a few hours to figure out your surroundings before you could begin to create a plan. As for the drug, it's nothing with any long-term effects or major harm, just a concentrated extract of the marijuana plant from Earth mixed with a hallucinogen slash knock-out drug that can be found commonly at joke shops all over Jantorcon Six."

"Wait, so he actually _is_ stoned?" Tyler got out through a laugh.

"Mm, guess so," The Doctor agreed, "Tell me if I say anything stupid, will you?"

"Anytime," Tyler said with a shrug.

"Anyway, moving on, question two!" The Doctor presented grandly. "Moving up slowly. How exactly did you get your TARDIS from one universe to the next?"

"Going by what your Rose did, I think you know," she answered, crossing her arms.

"Yes, but something like that should only be possible in theory, where on Earth could you possibly have gotten enough power?"

Rose didn't answer for a moment, evidently uneasy in answering his questions. Tyler thought she might redraw the gun, but she just began to speak again.

"Simple," she said, "I hooked up a psychic link to extra power I kept in another room or wherever else I could fit it. As for where I got the power… There was a lot to spare and a lot of people losing it. I got it out of burning suns, willing participants, wherever I could find it. And on top of that, I added some of my own." She leaned back into the console, her voice getting slightly more grave. "I'm on my tenth regeneration, Doctor, and it's the last one I'll ever have."

"Spare regeneration energy," The Doctor identified, "You're desperate."

"Haven't you noticed?"

"You can't just collect energy from burning suns in its raw form, it would have had to been extracted, controlled."

"Like I said," she responded, raising her eyebrows, "Willing participants."

"How could you get enough people to gather up the energy from a sun working so that you and John can cross over into some other universe?"

"Well, that's not the same question, now it it Doctor?"

"Indeed it is not," he said, standing up fully, "Which, of course, brings us to our final question."

"Care to ask it?"

"Why?" The Doctor asked slowly. Rose's eyes fell shut as though the very word hurt her just a little inside. She looked away and thought for a moment.

"I'll explain," she finally concluded, "But your Rose can't be here."

"Alright," Tyler said without arguing. The Doctor took a step aside and let Rose step into the broken TARDIS shaped like a pillar.

"And John," Rose continued, turning partway around to face him.

"Yeah?" he asked nervously.

"You too," Rose insisted.

"Rose-"

"I'm sorry John, some of this stuff… you can't hear it. Not like this."

"Why?!" he demanded. Rose just chuckled softly, bringing her hand up to touch the side of his face.

"It's always 'why' with you," she said lovingly, almost sadly, "Death could show up on your doorstep and say your time was up and still you'd ask him 'why'. And I love that, John, I truly do…" She took her hand away and her eyes got more serious. "But no answers this time. I need you to just trust me, and go."

The Doctor looked at her, confused and on the verge of frightened for just another moment, before he hurried off and joined Tyler in the broken TARDIS.

"Lock them in," Rose said, nodding at the door. The Doctor took another step back and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, locking the door. He tucked it back in his coat. Slowly, he turned to face her, walking around in a short circle as she stepped away from the console and he stepped a little bit closer, leaving them both about the same distance from the console and a good few feet from each other. The Doctor walked slowly, making sure not to stumble, and focused on the task at hand. Luckily, he could feel the drug continuing to wear off.

"So…" he began. "Here we are. No Rose, no John." He smiled, but his voice didn't show the same emotion. "Where do you want to start?"

Rose looked away, thinking for a moment. It was clearly very hard for her to explain this. "Well… the beginning would probably be the most logical place," she began, "For you, and I, not the very beginning, as we both know life has lots of beginnings. But… a big one…" she swallowed, "The fall of Gallifrey."

The Doctor's back stiffened at the words and his heart skipped a beat, but he continued listening.

"The Time War had been going on for millions of years and everyone was on the verge of wiping each other out completely. You know what happened, I don't really have to explain it. So… I'd finally had enough. I thought to myself again and again, hysterically, the same phrase-"

"No more," The Doctor finished for her. She nodded.

"Exactly." She took a few steps closer to the TARDIS, laying her hand on it, and the Doctor, in return, took a few steps closer to the console, leaning on one of the panels.

"So, I stole this ship for myself and ran off. And then, of course, I was offered a choice. A terrible, terrible choice, the worst choice you could possibly imagine. Save everyone and stop nothing… or stop everything and leave them all to die." She sighed, shivering at the very question itself, and then looked back up at the Doctor, "I see, now, you are less faithful and wiser than I am, and took the right option. You did what you had to. But I loved my planet and had so much faith in the Gallifreyan army I-" she cut herself off, looking away in impossible levels of guilt. "And then you know what happened," she mumbled.

The Doctor's eyebrows raised at her words, "How could you get enough people to gather up the energy from a sun working so that you and John can cross over into some other universe?" he quoted himself, "But they don't think it's just you and John, do they?"

She shook her head, her voice cracking when she spoke, "It's a nightmare, Doctor," she said, "Just by looking up at the sky you see that at least one for every five stars are already gone. There was nowhere where we could be free from the daleks… where _John_ could be free from the daleks… so… I came here. That's why he had to leave. He still thinks I'm coming back for the rest of them, but we both know I can't expand the crack I made, even if I did have the power. And God knows he doesn't know that the daleks were my fault. I can't tell him that Doctor, I just- I just can't." She looked up at him sternly, almost angrily. "There you have it, Doctor. Is that the 'why' answer you needed?"

The Doctor gave a heavy sigh, strolling over to the console and leaning backwards against it. "Clever," he said finally. Rose scoffed defensively.

"I'm sorry, are you still high?" she snapped. "I deceived the entire universe!"

"You did," The Doctor agreed, "I never said it was a good thing to do, I just said it was clever, which it was. You need John and yourself away from the daleks, so you tell every desperate person about a safe haven and have them load your ship with power so you can pierce a hole in the universe. Every calculation was counted for, every detail checked, brilliant!" He leaned back into the console, pressing his hands into it's surface as his face went dark and his voice got slow, "But… you do know what this means?" Rose looked immediately away, her, a chill running up her spine as the Doctor continued. "What you and John have to do," he prompted.

"Not him!" Rose snapped back, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Rose-" the Doctor began wearily.

"I've double checked every figure, Doctor. If I go back along with the TARDIS the gravitational pull will reconstruct it completely. John's not even in the picture. You know I'm right, you know it."

"You're right," The Doctor answered. "If you go it'll seal the crack." Rose gave a silent sigh of relief. The Doctor stood back up off the console and pulled the major lever, sending them to the location he had been setting while she spoke.

"What are you doing?" Rose demanded.

"It's time, Rose," the Doctor responded sternly. Rose's face flooded with panic as she looked frantically between the Doctor and the door that inevitably lead to the crack.

"Now?" she said anxiously, "Wh-why now, there's so much time-"

"The daleks could break through that crack any minute, Rose," The Doctor explained soberly, "For the sake of my universe I'm not taking that chance." Rose just stared at him wide-eyed, trying to think of some sort of loophole, anything at all.

"I could come back here, to this time after I travel!" she suggested hopefully.

"Then, the crack would have closed before you closed it," the Doctor answered, "Paradox."

"I promised John we'd be together," she said lowly, her voice shaking. "How could I do that to him, to us?!"

"He'd love you no matter what you did, but it would be rather hard for him to keep you in his heart if it's been shot by a dalek laser, as they kill everyone in all of time and space," the Doctor said sadly. "Now, it's been good, Rose," he told her, "But now it's time for you to go."

Rose swallowed, taking a few slow steps to the door as she accepted what she had to do. Her hands shook like jackhammers and her breath was uneven and hindered.

"Promise me John will be safe," she instructed.

"Rose, I can't-"

"Promise me!" The Doctor took a breath. She wouldn't go unless he meant it, so he set his plans and promised her honestly.

"He'll be safe." Rose nodded, letting out a sharp breath as she stared at the door.

"And I just need one more thing, Doctor," she requested softly.

"What's that?" the Doctor asked.

"I need you to tell John some words, exactly as I say them. I know I have no right to ask for your trust but just…" Her eyes showed her first sign of weakness as she found there was no reason he should. So she finally gave a weak, "Please…"

The Doctor swallowed. She wasn't Rose, but in some other sense she also was, and he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and tell her she'd be fine. But he kept his voice steady.

"Of course," he answered.

"Tell John…" she began. She was silent for a moment, thinking through every word. "The daleks," she finally said. Her voice began to break as tears welled in her eyes. "Were my fault." She sniffed, pulling herself back together even as the tears ran down her cheeks, "And the invasion… was my punishment. You weren't meant to see any of it and you will never understand how sorry I truly am. But if it changes the way you see me at all…" She took in a long breath, trying to keep her voice stern even though it shook with tears as she emphatically finished her statement. "You, John Smith… were my privilege." And with that, she shut her eyes, set her hand on the handle. And pressed forward.

In less than a few seconds Rose was gone and the TARDIS doors were closed, leaving her lost to the universe forever.

"Haven't they been out there for a while?" John asked anxiously. His back was pressed against the TARDIS door and his foot tapped impatiently against the ground. Tyler leaned against the wall beside him, her arms crossed.

"It hasn't been five minutes," Tyler responded, a clear tone of annoyance in her voice.

"Hasn't it?" John responded, shifting his position, "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously!" Tyler snapped, "What are you so antsy about, they're probably just talking about some… Time Lord stuff."

Suddenly, he whipped around to face Tyler, stopping only one or two inches away from her.

"Tyler, that never happens!" he insisted sharply. "And did you see that look she gave me, I'm telling you, something's wrong! What if he's hurting her?!"

"John, calm down," Tyler said, putting her hands on his chest in order to stop him from doing anything rash. "I know the Doctor, he wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, you know him. And how am I supposed to trust you?"

"Trust me?! You're one to talk!" Rose exclaimed. John let out a sharp breath, twirled around, and returned to his spot against the door. He lasted a total of ten seconds before he gave in.

"I can't," he said, turning around to face the door. "It's been too long. There's got to be a way to unlock it."

Tyler rolled her eyes, but raised her eyebrows as the door made a gentle clicking sound.

"Was that you?" she asked.

"No," he responded. They gave each other a short look before John hurried through the door.

"Where's Rose?" John asked immediately, looking around the room as he stumbled out. He swallowed when he saw the Doctor's grave expression.

"She's gone," the Doctor said sadly. John stumbled back, his face filling with fear at his words. "What do you mean?" he asked rapidly. Confusion mixed with anger and filled his eyes. "What have you done to her?!" he suddenly shouted.

"Doctor, what happened?" Tyler asked, alarmed. She stepped over to the console.

"John, I think you know what happened," the Doctor answered. John shook his head.

"No," he answered. He pulled a small black gun from under his coat and aimed it at the Doctor with two violently shaking hands.

"Doctor, he's armed," Tyler warned, taking a nervous step back.

"Stay there, Rose," the Doctor responded, "He won't shoot."

"I will shoot, don't you _fucking_ doubt me!" John screamed, swinging around the gun to a frightened Tyler and then back to an unloving Doctor. "What have you done to Rose?"

"I didn't push her, if that's what you mean," the Doctor answered. "She just went."

John aimed his gun at the ceiling and fired out a green laser that put scorch marks on the ceiling. "Don't lie to me!" he shouted hysterically.

"Doctor, we should probably-" Rose began nervously.

"He won't shoot," The Doctor repeated confidently.

John stepped forward, putting the gun directly to his head. Still, the Doctor didn't flinch.

"If you sent Rose away, I'd shoot anyone!" John said lowly.

"I know you would," said the Doctor, "But you won't."

John growled in frustration. "Why, Doctor?!" he demanded, "Why exactly, wouldn't I-"

"She had some last words, you know," the Doctor interrupted. John shook his head defiantly.

"No," he insisted, "They can't be last words, not unless she's-" he cut himself off, his voice shaking. "She's not gone!" he insisted at the top of his voice.

"It was her last request you hear them," The Doctor told him. John's eyes filled with worry as he let the gun fall to his side.

"What were they?" John asked nervously.

"The daleks were my fault." The Doctor began quoting, "And the invasion was my punishment. You weren't meant to see any of it and you will never understand how sorry I truly am. But if it changes the way you see me at all, you, John Smith, were my privilege." He cast him a look of sorrow as he added in his own words, "You're not going to shoot me, John, because that's a teleport gun. I'm sorry."

John's face faltered as he stumbled backwards, as though he had been physically punched in the chest. He covered his face with his hands, still holding the gun.

"No…" he fell back against the wall of the TARDIS, his hands coming up and covering his head to reveal they were filled with tears, hysterical, human tears that the universe had never seen come from the Doctor's eyes. The gun clattered to the floor as he wiped the tears from his eyes and whispered her name, his shoulders shaking with sobs.

Tyler bit her lip. She couldn't just watch him cry, even if he wasn't really the Doctor. She walked over to him, leaning against the wall beside him.

"Look, John," she began.

"Mm, don't," John moaned, "Don't look at me with those eyes…" Tyler shook her head.

"I don't understand, why not?" she asked softly. John looked over to her with heartbroken, glistening eyes.

"Because they were _her_ eyes," he answered weakly. Tyler's chest ached, and she looked back forward without making eye contact anymore.

"Look, John, I know it's hard," she confessed, "But… this is what she wanted, you know. She must have known she'd have to close the crack again somehow, she came here to get you safe."

"She came here to get _us_ safe," John corrected, "I was only half, and certainly the less important of the two." He shook his head, "I just… wish she'd told me, why didn't she tell me?"

"I think it was about the dalek... thing," Tyler confessed.

"I don't care about that," John answered honestly.

"I know," said Tyler. They were both silent for a moment.

"So, what now?" John asked with a sniff. Tyler shrugged.

"Well, anything you want," she said, "I don't know about the TARDIS though, that may be off limits."

"I couldn't anyway," John answered, "It would all… just remind me." He let out a long, slow breath, wiping the final tears that remained on his cheeks. "Doctor!" he called.

"Yes?" asked the Doctor.

"What would happen if I were to stay on Earth?"

The Doctor tucked his hands in his pockets, "You would live on as an anomaly. We'd leave the TARDIS to eventually be taken in piece by piece by the crack. The process would seal away the other universe, leaving the daleks trapped forever."

"And Rose?" John asked just one more time.

"Her too," John looked away, disappointed even though he knew the answer.

"Well, I guess that just leaves one option," he said. "Can you take me to London?"

"Of course," The Doctor said. He set the coordinates as John placed his hand on the handle. The extra pillar faded away, the broken ship being left to the crack.

"Thank you, Tyler," he said, and then added, "I'm afraid I can't thank you too, Doctor. After all that's happened… I just can't." The Doctor nodded.

"I understand, absolutely," he answered. He briefly turned around. His face held a look of coolness and still somehow awkwardness and his hands were tucked in his pockets, and he looked strangely, shockingly, human.

"Goodbye," he said, then added on, "Don't find me again… please." And with that, he opened the door, and started off through the streets of London.

The soft London air breathed and surged outside the blue box, brushing over the faces of Rose Tyler and the Doctor. They stood outside and stared down the road, running through what had happened just a few hours before. After a while, Rose finally spoke.

"So… how would the daleks be her fault?" she asked.

The Doctor took a breath. "Back on Gallifrey, she had a choice. Kill everyone, the daleks and the Time Lords, or kill no one and let the war rage on. Two awful choices but I suppose she chose the wrong one."

Rose looked up at him in curiosity. "So, that means you…" The Doctor cast her a sad smile and nodded.

"Yeah," he said. Rose looked back into the street, letting this run through her head. Thank God it wasn't her choice, she thought, because she would have made it wrong.

"So… um… I was wondering…" Rose began, considering the things John told her and letting the adrenaline run through her blood.

"Yeah?"

"Did you wanna… sometime…" she began.

"Go for a drink?" she said

"Fly the TARDIS together?" he asked simultaneously, then caught himself, "Er, yeah, drink, that's what, that's what I was gonna say," he stuttered nervously.

"Fantastic," she said, "Know any places?"

"Oh, you know a couple… thousand." They shared a smile for a moment before Rose looked down. A moment passed before she leaned forward and pecked him on the lips, and then headed back into the TARDIS. The Doctor's eyes went wide and his voice high pitched.

"Did you just-" he began.

"What?" Rose interrupted with a smirk

"What did you-"

"What?" She grinned, leaning against the console. "You sound confused, Doctor. The drugs must not have worn off yet."

He shook his head. "Rose, it must have worn off at least 15 minutes…" he stopped, looking at Rose's smile. "Oh," he said in gentle recognition. A giddy smile spread across his face and he leaned against the door of the TARDIS doorway. "Oh," he giggled again. "On we go then!" he said excitedly.

"Getting a drink, are we?" Rose asked with a giggle, "Very human."

"Very human," he repeated in agreement, "Very human indeed. But you know what?"

"What?"

"Let's go anyway!" he rushed into the TARDIS and set the coordinates for a place he thought would suit, as he let the door shut behind him.

END


End file.
